Livescore
Michigan State announced Thursday that it will resume athletic activities this weekend after a shooting that killed three people and left five others injured on Monday evening. The school canceled all campus activities for 48 hours in response to the shooting and postponed its men’s basketball game originally scheduled Wednesday night vs. Minnesota.
“The safety and physical and mental well-being of our students and staff is the primary focus of Michigan State athletics,” Alan Haller, MSU athletic director said in a statement. “In consultation with mental health professionals and in conversations with our student-athletes it became apparent that a return to practice and competition is a crucial part of their recovery. Student-athletes were given an active voice in the decision to return to competition, as well as the autonomy to make their own individual choices about participation.”
The resumption of competition means the women’s basketball team will be back in action Saturday at 3 p.m. to host Maryland as scheduled. The men’s basketball team will resume play after its game vs. Minnesota was postponed Wednesday with a return to play Saturday at 8 p.m. vs. Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“Athletics can be a rallying point for a community in need of healing, a fact many of our student-athletes have mentioned to me. The opportunity to represent our entire community has never felt greater,” Haller said. “I also recognize that everyone grieves in their own unique manner, and there are some who aren’t ready to return to athletic events. Those feelings are incredibly valid, and as Coach Izzo so eloquently stated last night, I hope that we will all focus on taking care of one another.”
Michigan on Saturday plans to honor the victims of the shooting and the Michigan State community with special shirts, a moment of silence and other tributes.
Spartans coach Tom Izzo on Wednesday delivered an emotional speech on Wednesday at an on-campus vigil as the community gathered to pay respects to the victims of the tragedy.
“As a Spartan, we always get through it together,” said Izzo. “For 40 years, I’ve always believed at Michigan State, we are at our own strongest when we’re together. In athletics the best teams are always greater than the sum of their individual parts. The same is true for our community.”
Read the full article here
